December 3, 2011 SAT Test Registration Deadline

Register Now

The deadline for the December 3, 2011 SAT Test is fast approaching.  You must register for the test by November 8th to meet the regular registration deadline date.  If not, you will have to pay late registration fees to take this test in addition to the normal test registration fees. You can register right now via the College Board registration page.

As you probably already know, I work with a limited number of students each year to prepare them for the SAT and ACT tests as well as the complete college admission process.  If you have any questions about how I may be able to help you or your college bound student, please feel free to contact me.

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

What to bring to your SAT or ACT Test

One common mistake students make is not knowing what to bring with them on the day of the SAT or ACT test.  They have done multiple practice tests for many months, but lose confidence and focus if they aren’t fully prepared on Saturday morning.  Please read this list or print it out so that you can look it over before you go to take your SAT or ACT test.

Test Day Essentials

Remember to bring the following with you on Saturday morning:

1. Registration slip (print off of SAT/ACT website)
2. Directions to test center
3. Calculator (extra batteries if you think you’ll need them)
   1. Approved calculators:

i.      four-function calculator

ii.      scientific calculator

iii.      graphing calculator

1. Stopwatch for your desk—digital with NO BEEPING—stopwatch is not mandatory, but useful instead of having to look up at the clock or rely on the proctor to tell you the time left.  My students have always told me they wished they had a stopwatch on test day.
2. Two sharpened No. 2 pencils with erasers
3. Student ID
4. Food—something nutritious & easy to eat—a banana or energy bar is usually best
5. Drink—water/Gatorade/flavored water
6. Tissues
7. Social security number (optional)
8. Email address (optional)

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

How to Study for the SAT Math Section

Prepare for the SAT Math Section

Often students will come to me because they need to bring the score of one or two (of the three) SAT sections up.  They want a crash course so that their Critical Reading or Math section increases.  While the Writing (grammar + essay) portion is counted in the overall score, many top colleges still weigh the importance of the Critical Reading & Math sections more heavily.  I.e. They would still like to see the highest score the student can get out of 1600 (Critical Reading out of 800 and Math out of 800).  For this reason, I will dedicate this article to the Math section (You can visit the previous article on Critical Reading).

Math Strategies:

You will see from any answer sheet in the practice book or from the “Question-And-Answer Service” made available by the College Board for the October, January, and May tests that the SAT Math problems are arranged in order of increasing difficulty: The early ones are Easy, middle ones are Medium difficulty, and ones at the end are Hard.  Use this to strategize which questions to skip.  Remember to skip ANY questions in which you can’t eliminate three answer choices.  Only make a guess when you narrow the answer possibilities down to two.  In only one particular section of the Math (called the “grid-ins” or “student produced response”) should you answer all 10 questions—even if it’s a complete guess.  This is the one section in which the PSAT & SAT only count the answers you get RIGHT.  Answers are only “0” and positive numbers/fractions/decimals.  The answer will never be a negative number or a letter (you will figure this out when they don’t give you that choice in the grid in anyway).  Remember to use the cheat sheet at the beginning of every math section if you forget areas or volumes of shapes, the Pythagorean Theorem, or how to spot special right triangles.

If you go to the CollegeBoard website: www.collegeboard.com, you can review the concepts covered on the SAT Math.  Here is their list:

• Arithmetic word problems (including percent, ratio, and proportion)

• Properties of integers (even, odd, prime numbers, divisibility, etc.)
• Rational numbers
• Sets (union, intersection, elements)
• Counting techniques
• Sequences and series (including exponential growth)
• Elementary number theory

Question of the Day:

Also on www.collegeboard.com, you can practice a “Question of the Day” or click on “Practice & Review Math.” Here you can find both the multiple choice and student-produced response questions.  This is a good way to get used to the style of questions the PSAT & SAT will ask.

In general, practice makes perfect for the SAT math.  If you continue to do SAT math problems, you’ll realize they don’t change the type of questions they ask all that much.   You need to review problems, but also work on keeping up your pace.  Use these test-taking strategies, and your Math section score will increase.

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

How to Study for the SA T Critical Reading Section

Top Secret SAT Critical Reading Strategies and Tips

Often students will come to me because they need to bring the score of one or two (of the three) SAT sections up.  They want a crash course so that their Critical Reading or Math section increases.  While the Writing (grammar + essay) portion is counted in the overall score, many top colleges still weigh the importance of the Critical Reading & Math sections more heavily.  i.e. They would still like to see the highest score the student can get out of 1600 (Critical Reading out of 800 and Math out of 800).  For this reason, I will dedicate this article specifically to the Critical Reading section.

The Critical Reading section of the SAT is comprised of vocabulary, short reading passages, and longer reading passages.  First let’s start with a vocabulary building process.

Word Games:

Everyone would benefit from studying 5 SAT words a night.  Maybe this is something you can do first thing in the morning with your breakfast, or right before you go to bed at night.  Study with flash cards each week.  Group synonyms.  Know their antonyms.  Each week I quiz my students on 35 words.  Quiz yourself or have someone quiz you.

Word Roots:

Because it’s impossible to know what words might be tested on the PSAT/SAT, start to figure out if words have a positive or negative connotation.  Knowing roots can help you: Instead of learning one word at a time, you can learn a group of words that contain a certain root.  They’ll be related in meaning, so if you remember one, it will be easier to remember the others.  Try to decode a new vocab word by its root.  If you can recognize a familiar root, chances are you’ll get enough of an idea to answer the question.

Roots (especially prefixes) like ben, bene, pro, eu, am, ami, ferv, grat, lev, moll, pac, phil, plac, sacr, sanct, & spir are usually roots in positive words.  Also note that words which start with “p” are generally positive words.

Words that start with bell, belli, contra, culp, de (in most cases), dis, dol, err, fals, fal, frag, frac, grav, mal, mis, mor, mort, neg, oner, per, pseudo, tim, tox, trem, trep, vac, vil are generally roots of negative words.

Question of the Day:

Go to the Collegeboard website www.collegeboard.com to practice a “Question of the Day” or click on “Practice & Review Sentence Completions.”  Some will have one blank, others 2 blanks.  Try to recognize words by using the new roots you’ve learned.

Other ways to build up your vocabulary:

Word of the Day:

Find Word of the Day calendars and toilet paper!

Vocabulary Books:

1. Kaplan’s SAT Score raising Dictionary—2000 SAT words
2. McGraw Hill’s 400 Essential SAT Words
3. Sparknotes SAT Vocab Novels
4. SCAM, Sacked, Rave New World, Busted, Head over Heels
5. Barron’s “Picture These SAT words”—pictures to remember words

READ!

As we all know, the more you read, the more words you will have in your vocabulary.  Reading more will also help you increase your reading speed.  Summer reading is an excellent way to increase your vocabulary and practice reading at a faster pace.

Reading Strategies for SAT Critical Reading:

Short Readings

Most students don’t have trouble focusing for short periods of time, so these short paragraphs aren’t usually troublesome unless the questions have you compare two short readings.  Figure out if the paragraph is negative or positive because the answers will likely follow in the same tone.  Does the author agree or disagree with something?  Is he/she sad, mad, perplexed, skeptical, outraged, or irritated?  Then the answers should follow in that vein.  Or is the author approving, happy, elated, in awe, understanding, teasing, jovial, jocular, or comedic?  These answers should follow in that same positive tone.  When you are asked to compare the two short readings, make sure to think which author was positive or negative.  Be careful when you’re asked which line most undermines (weakens) the author’s point of view…then you’ll need to look for the answer choice that doesn’t follow the theme or mood to the passage.

Long Readings

1 long passage:

Always read the italics at the beginning of every passage to understand what type of reading it is, in what year the article was written, and/or what topic to expect…and often the answer to one of the questions!

Skim the questions and underline and circle the words or phrases mentioned in each paragraph. You can do this easily and quickly (40-60 seconds) because the question refers you to a specific line.  This is where you need to focus.  You can skim/barely read the other parts, but you must pay close attention to the parts you’ve underlined & circled in the reading…This is where you’ll find all your answers.

Is the overall passage positive in feel or negative?  Your answers should follow the theme to the passage.  Leave questions like “the primary purpose of the passage” to the end because the other questions and answers will help you know the overall purpose of the passage.

If you’re running out of time, answer the vocabulary in context or short phrase questions first, leaving the longer, wordier questions to the end.

Do NOT randomly guess when you’ve run out of time—always skip if you can’t get the answers down to 2 possibilities.

Comparing Passage I & Passage II Readings:

Again, read the italics at the beginning.  Skim the questions so you can do your underlining & circling.

Read Passage I first and then answer any questions that only ask you about Passage I.  Think if Passage I was positive or negative?  Was the author happy or sad, mad or outraged, condescending, skeptical, irritated or in awe?

Then read Passage II (thinking why they had you compare these two passages) and the finish the rest of the questions.  If you’re running out of time, answer the vocabulary or short phrase questions first, leaving the longer, wordier questions to the end.

Again, do NOT randomly guess when you’ve run out of time—always skip if you can’t get the answers down to 2 possibilities.

In general, by building up your vocabulary and roots, keeping up your reading pace, and using our test-taking strategies, your Critical Reading section score will increase.

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

What book should I use to study for the SAT and ACT?

The Best SAT Study Guide

With such a plethora of choices for standardized test study guides, where should one start?

Let me begin by saying that practice does indeed make perfect on these tests, so the more practice tests you can complete, the better you’ll do…(but try not to burn out too quickly)!

My best advice is to pick the book written by the people who write the test you’ll take.  Nothing against all the other guides, but just stick to CollegeBoard’s SAT guide and The Real ACT Prep Guide written by the makers of the ACT.  Each book is currently on its 2^nd edition.  If you practice with these two books, you’ll really know what to expect in terms of test layout, questions per page, size of scantron sheet, etc.  When you’re already pressed for time, you don’t want something you studied to be a different look than the test you’re working on that Saturday morning.  It can really throw you off and in turn change your score for the worse.

Here they are:

CollegeBoard’s The Official SAT Study Guide 2^nd Edition:

The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition

The Real ACT Prep Guide 2^nd Edition:

The Real ACT Prep Guide: The Only Guide to Include 3Real ACT Tests

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

PSAT Test Prep Tips

Why should you take the PSAT?

Many students take a PSAT test during October of their sophomore year.  Yet, some don’t start until their junior year.  Whenever you plan to take it, it’s nice to feel a little prepared for what to expect.  This year the PSAT’s will be offered on Wednesday, October 12^th (at private high schools) and Saturday October 15^th (at public high schools).  Below I’ve enumerated some tips for taking your junior year PSAT test:

WHY SHOULD I TAKE THE PSAT?

This test is important because it’s good practice for the actual SAT and you could receive a National Merit Scholarship (scholarship given from the NMSC).

HOW DO I TAKE THE PSAT?

Your school should register you, but just in case, in September make sure you’re registered for the October PSAT.  You can prepare by using old PSAT or SAT exams.

REASONS FOR TAKING THE PSAT/NMSQT
(NMSQT = National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test)

1. You can get results which could tell you what you need to study for the SAT.
2. You can then focus your preparation in those areas.
3. You can see how your score relates to other students applying to college.
4. You can familiarize yourself with standardized testing and with the kinds of questions you’ll see on the SAT.
5. RESULTS from the PSAT will give you and your counselor a good idea of your strengths and weaknesses.  If you took your 10^th grade PSAT, did you do better this time?  What do you need to work on before you take your first SAT?
6. BOOKS for PREP?  What book should I use to study for the PSAT?  There are a few PSAT study guides out there, but the best way is to study old PSAT tests–especially the one offered by your school/what you get in the mail from the College Board.

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

Austin SAT Testing Locations for Oct. 1, 2011

Register by Sept. 9 for the October 1st SAT!

Just a quick update for those of you looking to take the October 1st SAT.  The current locations for the test are as follows:

You can get the latest list of testing locations in Austin or in another city by visiting the Code Search page on the College Board website.  Remember to register by September 9th or you will have to page a late registration fee in addition to the $49 registration fee.

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

Summer Activities for High School Seniors

Important information for the Class of 2012

Following up on last weeks post about summer activities for high school juniors, today I am going to post an excerpt from an email I sent out to my private tutoring rising senior students and parents.

Many of you have started your summer plans that I advised you to take: a job, summer school, travel, a special summer program, community service, internships, sports/art/science/math camps, immersion trips, shadowing someone at a job you like, etc.  Good luck and truly enjoy your adventures!

General Testing & Application information:

• June 4th SAT scores are available starting 6/23.
•  June 11th ACT scores are available starting on 6/27.
• AP scores are usually sent out mid-July in the mail.
• Common App (which added another 49 schools including University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) and University of Southern California (USC))  will go live on Aug 1st.
• University of California app will most likely go live on Oct 1st.

Can I do anything to get organized before the busy “application season”?

• Please continue to take notes for each activity you’ve done/are doing.  You’ll need to know hours/week and week/year for every activity…as well as any honors/positions held.  Update your activity resume often.
• Research the colleges/universities on your list.  If you know you want to major in a certain subject, then review how your schools offer that major/department.
• You will need to explain to most colleges why you want to apply there and what you want to study.  Start looking at websites & books to see how you’d answer these questions.
• Theater Students: Make any audition tapes for dance, music or theater.
• Art/Sports: Review you highlight tapes/DVD’s and art portfolios to see if anything is missing.  Prioritize when to finish them—preferably before you start filling out all your applications.
• Look over online applications/school websites to find out if you will need/want to send any special materials for supplements to fall applications (See Common App details below)

Should I think about my personal statement/essays this summer?

YES!

Common App/Essays/News:

• A preview version of the 2011-2012 Common App has been posted https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2012-11CAO_Highlighted.pdf
• Please review it to see what you’ll be filling out after August 1st.
• They have capped the number of words to the personal statement at 500.
• They have not given a word count to the short answer (it used to be fewer than 150 words)

The UC application:

• It won’t be available til Oct 1st, but they usually assure me that the essays will be exactly same or very similar to last year’s.  Here are last year’s: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/how_apply/personal_statement.html

Other News:

UGA early application

• This is the earliest of early applications with an Oct 15th due date (no essays required for early action)

USC interviews

•  As I’ve told many of you, the USC interviews fill up quickly.  On campus interviews will begin in August and conclude in December.  Sign-ups for off-campus interviews will be available by Sept 1st.
• Information from the USC website is still from last year, but here is the link: http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/adm_interview.html
• Let me know if you’d like to brush up on your interview skills.  We can discuss possible questions and then have a mock interview in person/over the phone/skype.
• The Common App claims USC joined, but it looks as if USC hasn’t updated its application information.

Should I check in with Danielle?

YES!

I’ve met with or Skyped with most of you already, but for those of you who haven’t checked in yet this summer, let’s schedule a time to brainstorm ideas about your personal statement and discuss summer plans, test results, your timeline, and next steps.

–Danielle

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

Summer Activities for High School Students

Summer Activities for High School Juniors

Rising Juniors

Is your high school student headed into their Junior year of high school after this summer?  Are you looking for some activities that will help build their resume for college?  Then read on.

This article is an excerpt from a recent email I sent out to my private tutoring clients with a similar email going out to our free college timeline list.   It not only includes some great activity ideas for your rising Junior, but also some important considerations with regards to the PSAT, learning disabilities, recruited athletes, and recommended books.  If you have any questions, please be sure to post a comment here or feel free to contact me.

Thought I’d give you a mid-summer check-in!  You made it through your sophomore spring of tough classes, papers, tests, & finals and (for some of you) an SAT Subject Test perhaps.  You also hopefully selected a challenging junior year course load.  Please check in with me if you have questions about which classes to take next fall.

How should I keep busy this summer?

• As I’ve told you, make sure to keep your schedule busy over the summer after your sophomore year. Many students try to “bulk their resume” the summer after their junior year.  Colleges realize this and see right through it.
• Most of you have started your summer plans that I advised you to take: a job, summer school, travel, a special summer program, community service, internships, sports/art/science/math camps, immersion trips, shadowing someone at a job in an industry you like, etc.  Good luck and truly enjoy your adventures!
• Create a college prep file: save transcripts/report cards, standardized test results, lists of awards or honors (academic, athletic, fine arts, etc).  Create lists of school and community service activities, lists of volunteer/paid jobs, your employers, and any recommendation letters they wrote for you.
• Take notes for each activity you’ve done/are doing.  You’ll need to know hours/week and weeks/year for every activity…as well as any honors/positions held.  Update your activity resume often.

The PSAT: When is it? What is it? Is it important?

• The next PSAT is administered Wed, Oct 12^th (private high schools) or Sat, Oct 15^th (public high schools).
• This test is important for 2 reasons: It’s good practice for the actual SAT and you could receive a National Merit Scholarship.
• Your school should register you, but just in case, in September make sure you’re registered.

Do you have a learning disability?

• If you have a learning disability, you should look into the requirements for getting tested/finding out more about getting extended time on the PSAT and/or SAT/ACT/AP exams.
• Learning disabilities like ADHD, dyslexia, and processing disorder may affect your progress in school work and/or your standardized tests.
• The testing process for a learning disability can be lengthy and expensive, so talk to your counselor/teachers first.  Or do you need to be re-tested?

Recruited Athletes…

• Early recruiting process: Some coaches will start looking at athletes as early as 2^nd semester 10^th grade.  Most, however, will do the serious recruiting around Jan/Feb of junior year.
• If you think you will play college sports/you are being recruited, between now and Jan of junior year is a good time to write to the coach at the schools where you have interest.  You’ll need to write a cover letter and attach a sports resume.  Talk to Danielle about more details about registering with the NCAA.

Recommended book to buy for PSAT/SAT studying:

• “CollegeBoard’s The Official SAT Study Guide (2^nd edition)

1. This book is written by The College Board, so it is the best book to buy.  You can study for the PSAT using this book as College Board doesn’t write a PSAT book.
2. There are 8 practice tests.  It is best to get through 4 before your first SAT.  By this point, most students can predict types of questions and start to feel more comfortable with the SAT test as a whole.

Recommended book to buy for ACT studying:

• “The Real ACT Prep Guide”

Should I check in with Danielle?  YES!

I’ve met with or Skyped with most of you already, but for those of you who haven’t checked in yet this summer, let’s schedule a time discuss your summer and next steps for the PSAT.

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

The Best ACT Test Prep Tips for 2011

Top ACT Test Prep Tips 2011

Should I Take the ACT?

When I first meet with families and students, they always ask whether they should take the SAT or the ACT.  They are confused what schools will accept which test and which test might be better for them.  Every school in the nation will accept either the ACT or the SAT, so you can make the choice.  Also, you never have to show any school your SAT/ACT score if you don’t like it.  I always advise students to take each test at least once, but let’s focus on the ACT for this article.

The ACT is much more of a research-driven style of test.  It is more in the style of your school tests.  For example, you can find every answer in the reading exercises (the questions are not trying to trick you).  You won’t have any vocab on the ACT.  Math is straightforward and will test you a bit on trig (sin, cosine, tangent) toward the end.  None of the ACT goes in order of difficulty.  The ACT is divided into 4 sections.  While the English (grammar) and Math sections seem to be about the same pace as the SAT sections, often times students find the pace of the ACT Reading & Science sections to be quite fast.  However, the ACT is not trying to trick you and the questions are much easier.  Just keep a good pace going especially in the Reading and Science.  Unlike the alternating 10 sections of the SAT (random order of 3 Critical Reading, 3 Math & 2 Grammar throughout the test), the ACT’s 4 sections are always the same and always in the same order.  You start the day with all the English in 45 min.  Next is the entire Math (60 problems, 60 minutes).  Next is Reading (35 minutes for 4 styles of passages): Prose, Social Science, Humanities, Natural Science.  Last is Science: always 7 experiments to do in 35 minutes.  You end the day with the (optional—but most colleges prefer it) 30 minute essay.  The ACT has a faster learning curve.  To feel prepared for the ACT, you should take 2-3 practice tests.

English:

The ACT grammar is more driven by questions in punctuation and verb tense or subject verb agreement.  The main strategy is to make a sentence more concise and to take out excessive punctuation.  Otherwise, it’s similar to the SAT sentence & paragraph improvement.

Math:

Math does not go in order of increasing difficulty, but more how you studied math in school.  The first 15 questions are usually on Algebra I, next 15 Geometry, next 15 Algebra II, and last use a bit of trigonometry.  Math questions are not trying to trick you.

Reading:

The toughest part about the ACT Reading is the pace.  The reading always goes in the same order: Prose, Social Science, Humanities, and Natural Science. Write down one word/phrase next to each paragraph as you read so you have a reference point.  ACT doesn’t always give you the direct line to find (“In lines 4-7…”) like the SAT does.  Skim the reading and get right to those 10 questions.  The questions are very straightforward and are not trying to trick you.  Just keep your pace because you must finish each reading and 10 questions in 8 minutes 45 seconds.

Prepare for the ACT Test!

Science:

Don’t worry if you are not a stellar science student.  Here you again need to keep your pace as you need to complete 7 experiments in 35 minutes (thus you can allow about 5 minutes per experiment!) Skim the paragraph if you read it at all.  Focus on the tables—recognize what’s going on vertically & horizontally in the tables.  Is it increasing?  Decreasing? Increasing then decreasing? Where is the highest number? Lowest number?  Make sure to pay attention to where they send you in the question: Table 1 or Figure 2 or Experiment 3.  Get right to the questions.  Read carefully so not to make silly mistakes (i.e. “from slowest to fastest or from fastest to slowest?)

ACT Essay:

You always end the day with the 30 minute essay.  This is a very basic essay—not a creative one.  This is my side of the argument and these are my 2-3 reasons why.  You probably learned about the structure of this essay in 6^th/7^th grade. For best results/scores, write a 4-5 paragraph essay.  I have seen a student get 10/12 points writing a 4 paragraph essay, but only students who have written 5 paragraphs (or more) have gotten 11-12 points on the essay.  The 4 paragraphs need to have an intro, 2 example paragraphs (to support your thesis), and a conclusion.  A 5 paragraph essay (preferred if you have the time to write it), adds another example to support your thesis (intro, ex #1, ex #2, ex #3, conclusion).   ACT essay topics are most always about school-related prompts.  Feel  free to use personal examples or make examples up as long as they support your argument.

ACT Expert and College Admission Advisor Danielle Bianchi

About the Author

For more information about the ACT test preparation or how I may be able to help you or your college-bound student, please visit my Services page or feel free to contact me.

Be sure to check out my ever increasing list of free college preparation and how to articles.

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.